Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) are one of the most studied of all the medicinal mushrooms. The mushroom fruit bodies are very slow to grow. They can take 6-8 weeks or more to form. Watch this a video posted on youtube of someone growing out a Reishi kit. Once ready, harvest and made medicinal tea and/or tinctures.
Kits may be grown indoors, and may also be fruited outdoors during the spring and fall. A humid environment is important for mushroom formation, and can be created by misting water from a spray bottle into a humidity tent.
All natural ingredients. Your kit contains a mushroom culture grown on pure hardwood sawdust and organic Canadian wheat bran. No chemical fertilizers, nor pesticides, used.
Fruiting instructions can be found here.
Kit size ~2kg (4lbs+)
Visit our Learn to Grow page to learn how to expand your mushroom kit into buckets of sawdust or used to inoculate logs!
For peak viability we recommend using your mushroom products within weeks, and storing in a cool location until use. Refrigeration between 2-4C is ideal for the longest shelf-life. Even when refrigerated, the fungal mycelium continues to grow, and eventually mushrooms burst out one way or another.
After harvesting you should store the mushrooms in a paper bag, which allows them to breathe. Leave them in the main part of the refrigerator to get good airflow, not the produce drawer. They will keep for a couple of days when stored in a paper bag in the refrigerator. Dehydrated Reishi mushrooms will keep up to two years when stored in a sealed container in a cool, dry, and dark place.
Reishi mushrooms have a bitter taste and has a very tough texture, so it is typically extracted into tea or powder form.
Adding reishi to juice, smoothies, and grab-and-go foods are some of the best ways to incorporate this powerful mushroom into your daily regimen. Reishi mushroom has a very earthy flavor profile and is best when paired with sweet or citrusy flavors, or even chocolatey flavors.
Asian cultures have used reishi mushroom for thousands of years. In Traditional Chinese medicine, reishi mushrooms are classified in a group of herbs known as Fu Zheng, which Chinese herbalists believe are the most powerful herbs for all-around strength, health, and longevity.
Reishi mushrooms have been well researched and tested, mostly in China and Japan, where they have been used for centuries for their medicinal properties. There are two major beneficial components from reishi mushrooms that researchers have extracted and identified: beta-glucans and triterpenes. Reishi is typically dual extracted (water and alcohol) in order to draw out as many beneficial compounds as possible.
Beta-glucans, found in the reishi mushroom, help to balance the immune system by regulating immune cells so they can perform their job in the body. The beneficial compounds found in reishi mushroom have been found to combat oxidative stress, free radical accumulation, and loss of cognition, which are major contributors to aging.
Reishi is known for its ability to balance mood by reducing stress and anxiety and acting as an antidepressant. In a study with cancer patients taking reishi mushroom powder, it was reported that they showed less anxiety and depression and had better quality of life. Some people use Reishi mushrooms as a sleep aid as taking reishi not only makes it easier to fall asleep, but also increases the quality of sleep.
